How to Deal with Hunger

How to deal with hunger

So last week we covered how you’ll never be ‘off track’ if you just listen to your body. Click HERE if you missed it. I’m not big on rules, especially surrounding food but if I did have one rule, it would be to always honor your body’s hunger/satiety cues.

Now, this week I want to provide further guidance when it comes to hunger & satiety. I know a lot of you are coming from a place where you feel like a bottomless pit, hunger is a common feeling for you and you feel if you really listen to it you’ll end up eating enough to feed a family of four.

First thing is first, you may just not be eating enough. I find with my female clients especially, they think that they need to be eating 1200 calories or less to see results. If this is you, please stop. You’re doing your body WAY more harm than good and setting yourself up for a lot of frustrating issues in the future.

Second, you may be eating enough or even too much, just not of the best things. Here are a few ‘healthy’ foods that are SUPER easy to overeat because they are super calorie dense:

NutsGranolaDried FruitPeanut ButterOlive OilHoney

Now, I am by NO means saying you shouldn’t eat these foods…at all. BUT if you do choose to eat them, make sure you are aware of the portion you are consuming and what else you are pairing it with to make your meal more satiating. The photo below is the difference between an actual serving of nuts versus what most people would consider a serving or handful.

The point is, these foods make it super easy for calories to creep on and if you’re trying to lose fat you’ll need to be mindful of the amount you are consuming because it’s hard to stay full on these foods alone.

So what’s the solution? PROTEIN & VEGGIES!! These should be the foundation of every meal you eat along with adequate water intake. Drinking a lot of water is HUGE in keeping you full between meals, aids in digestion & increasing your metabolism, so drink up.

Why protein & veggies?

Let’s start with protein:-Helps build & maintain muscle. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate, the easier it becomes to lose fat & keep it off. And no it won’t make you ‘bulky’-It’s very satiating-Has the highest TEF (thermic effect of food) among all of the macronutrients. Meaning, your body burns the most calories when digesting/breaking down protein-Contains amino acids that help rebuild & repair hair, skin & nails (along with muscle)

And veggies:-Provide micronutrients (vitamins & minerals) that feed every cell in every system of your body to help it THRIVE-Help reduce risk of disease, sickness & cancer-Increase natural energy levels-High in fiber which helps with healthy digestion & lasting fullness-Least calorie dense food group (meaning you can achieve fullness without many calories- game changer if you’re trying to lose weight)

By increasing the amount of protein & veggies on your plate, you’re leaving less room for more calorie dense carbs & fats. And before I get yelled at…..

CARBS AND FATS BOTH SUPER IMPORTANT! but also super abundant and over consumed in the american diet, so that’s why I am not emphasizing them here. They are still part of a healthy diet and they still have their roles. For example, a great healthy, balanced meal would look something like this:

Next weeks newsletter is going to be all about balancing your meals (and blood sugar) in particular. So stay tuned for that : )

To close out, lets circle back to last weeks point: As long as you are mindful of your hunger/satiety, nothing is off limits. However, if you are looking to improve your overall health and/or lose weight, it is important to make sure what you are filling your plate with MOST of the time is doing your body good.

Kapeesh?

Click that reply button if you have any questions or need any guidance with your own nutrition.